Arduino: Create your own touch sensitive MIDI-keyboard/-controller

Did you ever wish to play an instrument and interact at the same time with another instrument? As an example: Your audience is listening to your great guitar playing. But you want to give them more than that: With one touch on a piece of fine cutted aluminium foil you can trigger a MIDI control command and add whatever you like to your musical performance: Loops, drums, keyboards...

With a little trick you even do not have to touch the foil but only have to wave your hand (or feet) above it to start the MIDI control command. Sounds good but is certainly much too expensive? Then you should read further and experience how to build this device with an Arduino.

Building the hardware

You will need the following components to build the touch(less) MIDI device:

Setting up the software

Let's install some midi related software. First insall ttymidi for connecting the Arduino-MIDI-device via USB-serial with your ALSA-midi compatible application. Download and install it as described on the website.

Get it running

Plug some wires into the A0-A5 inputs and the D2-D13 inputs of the Arduino.

"A" stands for analog input while "D" is the digital one. In our case analog and digital inputs behave in the same way. There is no difference in using them here.

The digital ports D0 and D1 cannot be used for our MIDI device, because the Arduino UNO uses them for RX and Tx which is in fact the serial device which is left untouched here Rx and Tx are simply said responsible for the serial transmission of data. Also the upload mechanism of the Arduino via USB uses Rx/Tx, so it is better to leave it as it is until you know what you are doing.

Be sure that your speakers are connected and ON and that the volume output level is regulated high enough.

If you have not seen any errors you will be able to play your newly created MIDI instrument now.

Touch one wire and you should be rewarded with a first sound from your own created Arduino MIDI device.